Clarence e



i t i te CLARENCE E. DONNELLY, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y.

PARACHUTE.

Specification of Letters Itatent. y Patented July 22, 1919 vAppugeaon med october 11, 191s. serial No. 257,820.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, CLARENCE E. DONNELLY, a citizen of the United States, residing at ANew York city, in the county of New York andv State of New York, have invented certain new and useful vImprovements in Parachutes, of which the following is a specification. f

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in parachutes and has special reference to a parachute of a collapsible type adapted for either independent use, or in conjunction with` an airplane, and has for one of its objects certainty-of operation, strength and lightness of construction.

A further object of the invention lis the provision of a safety device comprising a silk or other suitable covering in conjunction with a plurality of telescoping sections which are forced by means of air pressure from a collapsed to an operating position.

The main object of this invention is to provide a positive mechanical means cause the parachute to open. With paro Jnutes as` commonly used, after the release of the parachute from an aeroplane or balloon, the rush of air, due to the fall, is relied upon to open the parachute.` Numerous accidents have,

however, been caused by the failure of the parachute tqopen. The apparatusdescribed aims to provide positive means to open the parachute, thus practically eliminating this.

source of danger. Further, the parachute V being opened at the starrt of the drop, it may vas,

be released comparatively near the ground and be effective, where an ordinary parachute, relying on the drop to open it, would scarcely open 'at all before hitting thel ground. l

with these and other objects in View, aie' invention consists in the construction, combination and arrangementof parts as will be hereinafter lfully described and illus- -trated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims herewith appended. In v-the accompanying drawings which show the preferred embodiment of my invention and to which reference is herein had byl like characters designating corresponding parts throughout these several views;

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of improved parachute.

Fig. 2 shows a top lplan view 'of myin- Y vention.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tankr showing the head removed. Y

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of my parachute in a collapsed position.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the invention comprises a harness 1 which is secured to a ring 2, the latter being attached to a number of guy cords 3, which in turn are connected to a collapsible parachute crown 4 made of silk or'other suitable material. Located beneath the parachute body is a vcompressed air tank 5 the ends of which are closed. 'A valve casing 6 is arranged on top of the tank and has its lower end open to communicate with the tank through an openin 7 in the top of the latter. Directly below t 1e opening is a valve chamber 8 which is iiXedly engaged with the inner face of the top of the tank. Subjacent the tank top is a septum 9 which is preferably formed integrally with the inner periphery of the tank and has a center open-y ing through which the lower end of the chamber 8 extends. Inlet ports l0 are formed in the septum around the valve chamber 8 and communicate with openings 11 in the wall of the latter, while passages 11 allow the air escaping from the tank 5, then assing through the ports 10 and after this t rough the openings 11, to enterthe casing 6 and pass through the openings 20V Vinto telescopic sections 12 which are' provided todextend radially from the valve I terminals of which `are secured inany suitable manner tothe margins of the crown .It will be noted .that the openings 11 and passages 11 register and thus assure the passage of the air from'the tank 5 into the casing 6.

A Vvalve rod 11i is slidably mounted through the bottom of the tan'k 5 and has a valve head 15 formedon one end and a rack face 1=6 on its side adjacent to theother end.

The valve rod 14 is reciprocated by means of a segmental lever 17V which meshes with the rack 16. The lever 17 is pivotally mounted in a standard which depends from the bottom of the tank 5, while an operating cable 18 or the like may be engaged with the lever 17 to permit convenient operation of the lever by the occupant. It will be noted that the valve head `is of a thickness substantially equivalent to the distance between the inner face ofthe top of the valve casing 6 and the upper lwalls of the recesses of openings 17 which communicate with the telescopic sections 12. It will, therefore, be appreciated that when the valve head is resting against the inner face of the top' of the valve casing the air from the tank 5 will be permitted to pass through the openings 11 in the valve chamber 8, Iand the openings Y 20 in the valve casing 6. To faciltate maintenance of the cente-r of gravity of the devicel and also to assist in supporting the occupant of the harness suitable supporting members 18 Iare used which in this instance comprise cables, the upper ends of which are secured to eyes on the tank 5, the lower ends being secured to ring 2.

For the purpose of illustrating the operation of the invention we will assume that the device is in a collapsed posi-tion. The occupant engages the harness 1 about his body and exerts suflicient pressure on the operating member 18 to cause the valve head 15 to rise to it-s uppermost position. The air from the tank 5 will then freely pass into the collapsed telescopic sections causing them to be forced outwardly, which ac- .tion opens up the crown Il. rlhe air pressure due to descent distends the crown, and thus permits the occupant to gradually descend in safety.

Thile the accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred embodiment of my invention, I do not wish to be confined thereto,

.as various forms, modifications and arrangements of the parts as shown may be had without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim as new is l. A collapsible parachute including an air tank, telescoping sections radiating from said tank a crown engaged with the sections and eXtensible by the expansion of the sections, a valve in the air tank including a' valve rod having a valve head formed on .with said rack face, and an operating cable actuated by the occupant of the parachute to begin the opening or closing of the communication between the tank and sect-ions.

2. A collapsible parachute including an air tank, horizontally telescoping members radiating from said tank, said members comprising base. sections and outer sections, the base sections being rigidly fixed to the .air tank, a crown connected to said outer sections, supporting members attached to the base of said tank lto maintain the center of gravity of the parachute and support. the occupant of the same, and means to release the sections and distend the crown.

3. A collapsible parachute including telescoping sections in communication with an air tank and horizontally radiating from the same, a crown engaged with the sections and eXtensible by the expansion of the sections, supporting members attached t-o the base of said tank to maintain the center of gravity of said parachute, a valve in the air tank including a valve rod having a valve head formed on one end and a rack face on its side adjacentl the other end, a segmental lever meshing with said rack face, and an operating cable actuated by the occupant of the parachute to begin the opening or closing of communication between the tank and sections.

4f. A collapsible parachute including an air tank, telescoping sections horizontally radiating from' said tank, a crown directly connected Ito said sections and extensible by the expansion of the latte-r, a valve chamber in said tank, the chamber and tank being provided with respective registering openings and passages lto assure the passage of air from the tank to the chamber, a valve in the air tank including a valve rod having a valve head formed on one end and a rack face on its side adjacent the other end, a segmental lever meshing with said rack face, and an operating cable actuated by the opera-tor of the parachute to begin the opening or closing of communication between the tank and sections.y

ln testimony whereof l have afiXed my signature. 

